I don't think there's a concept in all of gaming more terrifying than Silent Hill, which isn't really a town at all so much as it's what happens when your nightmares construct a prison bricked with your deepest fears on a foundation cemented with every torment you've ever suffered and throw you inside with nothing but your own cries to keep you company. And the worst part about Silent Hill? Most of the poor souls trapped inside came looking for catharsis. Take James Sunderland for instance; after receiving a letter from his dead wife, James travels to Silent Hill where he's hoping to find answers. What he's confronted with however, is a town hosting such deeply-rooted evil that it's capable of clawing into the minds of everyone inside and manifesting their darkest secrets in forms so grotesque it'll scare Freddy Krueger away. This is usually where a lesser game would be content to simply throw monster after monster at the screen and call it a job well done, but Silent Hill 2 stands the test of time because the narrative allowed for different levels of interpretation - James Sunderland's journey was as much about him coming to grips with his true nature as it was an exploration of grief. Even today, you can replay the game several times and come away with something new.
